The present invention relates to a wheel alignment system, and more particularly, to a method and system providing an improved technique for adjusting camber during wheel alignment.
Proper wheel alignment of an automotive vehicle is important for handling of the vehicle and for tire wear. In addition, proper wheel alignment increases fuel efficiency and safety.
The wheels of a motor vehicle may be aligned in a number of ways. For example, an operator or an alignment technician can use a vision imaging system such as a computer-aided, three-dimensional (3D) machine vision that employs optical sensing devices, such as cameras, to determine the positions of various objects. Examples of such apparatus and methods are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,724,743, entitled xe2x80x9cMethod and Apparatus for Determining the Alignment of Motor Vehicle Wheels,xe2x80x9d issued to Jackson, et al. on Mar. 10, 1998 and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,535,522, entitled xe2x80x9cMethod and Apparatus for Determining the Alignment of Motor Vehicle Wheels,xe2x80x9d issued to Jackson, et al. on Jul. 16, 1996, each incorporated herein by reference.
During an alignment process, a number of parameters are measured and adjusted to achieve proper wheel alignment. These parameters include camber, caster, steering axis inclination (SAI) and toe.
A camber angle is the inclination of the wheel plane from side view with respect to the vertical plane. A camber angle is defined positive when the wheel leans outward at the top, and negative when it leans inward.
A caster angle is the measurement between the tire""s vertical centerline of the steering axis through the upper and lower ball joints. Caster angle is the angle between the tire""s vertical centerline of the steering axis through the upper and lower ball joints. A caster angle is considered positive when the top of steering axis is inclined rearward and negative when the top of the steering axis is inclined forward. Positive caster settings provide a greater degree of steering efforts, self-centering and stability to the vehicle. Therefore, nearly every car has a positive caster setting. A large positive caster provides greater stability in high-speed, straight-ahead driving, but at low speeds, steering is heavy. A smaller positive caster setting makes for easier low-speed steering, but at high speeds, the vehicle will tend to wander.
Steering axis inclination (SAI) is the angle in the front elevation between the steering axis and vertical.
A toe angle of a wheel, at a specified wheel, is the angle between a longitudinal axis of the vehicle and the line of intersection of the wheel plane and the road surface. The wheel is toe-in if the forward portion of the wheel is turned toward a central longitudinal axis of the vehicle, and toe-out if turned away.
Camber, caster, and SAI are typically measured using inclinometers attached to the wheel. With camber, the inclinometer measures the angle that the plane of the wheel makes with the vertical. To measure caster, the wheel is turned through an arc, and the difference in the camber readings is used to derive the caster value. This procedure is called a caster swing.
SAI is measured in a manner similar to caster, except that the inclinometer used for the SAI reading measures the change in pitch angle of a line in the plane of the wheel as the wheel is turned through an arc. The SAI measuring inclinometer is aligned at 90xc2x0 to the inclinometer used for reading camber and caster.
A camber angle indicates the amount of inclination of a steerable wheel. The value of camber is affected by several different factors and changes with the directions of steerable wheels. In other words, the degree of wheel inclination of a steerable wheel changes during the rotation of the steerable wheel. The factors affecting the value of camber include the steering angle, caster and SAI. The values of caster and SAI will cause a unique relationship to exist between steering angle (toe), camber and SAI. Changes of camber are proportional to the values of caster, the steering angle and the SAI. Since caster and SAI are fixed, then a relationship of camber relative to toes exits. This may be measured empirically, or may be calculated, based upon camber, caster and SAI settings.
FIGS. 1a and 1b illustrate camber angles of a steerable wheel at different toe angles. The steerable wheel depicted in FIGS. 1a and 1b is the left front wheel of an automotive vehicle. In FIG. 1a, the steerable wheel is at zero toe. The steerable wheel has a negative camber of xcfx861 degree. In FIG. 1b, the steerable wheel is at xcex8 degree toe-out and has a positive camber of xcfx862 degree. As a result, if an adjustment of camber is to be made at xcex8 degree toe-out to achieve a specification camber angle, for example, zero degree camber, a xcfx862 degree adjustment must be made to achieve zero degree camber. However, the xcfx862 degree adjustment in camber will result in a camber at (xcfx861+xcfx862) degree at zero toe. Therefore, an adjustment of camber carried out at non-zero toe is usually inaccurate.
For purpose of wheel alignment, manufacturers specify an acceptable camber value at zero toe. However, some technicians may make camber adjustment when toe is not zero because by doing so, the technicians do not have to turn the wheel to zero toe every time before making an adjustment to the camber.
Adjusting camber at non-zero toe is sometimes acceptable for vehicles with small caster and SAI. If the caster and SAI are small, the difference of camber at different steerable angle is also very small. Thus, the amount of camber adjustment at different steering angles is similar and the differences can be ignored.
However, for vehicles with large caster and SAI, such as Mercedes-Benz, this approach will cause inaccurate adjustment of camber. For example, the camber at zero toe may be two degree, but the camber for the same vehicle might be 15 degrees at ten degrees toe. If a technician makes a 15 degrees camber adjustment at ten degrees toe, the camber will become minus 13 degrees at zero toe.
Accordingly, vehicle manufacturers, especially those vehicles with large caster, strictly require camber adjustment to be made at zero toe.
This requirement causes problems to technicians. For instance, if a technician wants to adjust the camber of the left front wheel, the technician would have to turn the steering wheel to turn the left front wheel to zero toe first and then adjust the camber and relate it to the manufacturer""s specification. Then the technician would have to take the steering wheel again, turn the right front wheel to zero toe and then adjust camber for the right front wheel. Consequently, the problem is that the procedure is time consuming because the technician is constantly adjusting the steering wheel to position the steerable wheels to zero toe positions. In addition, this procedure could introduce errors because any small deviation of toe from zero during the adjustment will affect camber.
Accordingly, there exists a need for increasing alignment efficiency. There is also a need to simplify alignment procedures. There is also a need for accurately adjusting camber. Still another need exists for providing an alignment procedure that does not require precise positioning of steerable wheels at zero toe position.
These and other needs are addressed by the present invention. The present invention provides a method and system for providing an improved camber adjustment technique. This invention increases technicians"" efficiency by simplifying alignment procedures and at the same time provides accurate camber adjustment.
One aspect of the present invention relates to a method for measuring the amount of camber adjustment for a steerable wheel. The method comprises the steps of: turning the steerable wheel to a first position in which the steerable wheel is either toe-in or toe-out; turning the steerable wheel to a second position in which the steerable wheel is toe-out if the steerable wheel is toe-in in the first position, and in which the steerable wheel is toe-in if the steerable wheel is toe-out in the first position; measuring toe angles and camber angles during the turning of the steerable wheel from the first position to the second position; determining the amount of camber angle of the steerable wheel at zero toe; and determining an adjustment amount of camber angle based on a specification camber angle and the amount of camber angle at zero toe.
The steerable wheels typically are the front wheels of an automotive vehicle. According to one aspect of the present invention, a steerable wheel is first turned to a first position, such as a toe-out position and then turned to a second position having an direction opposite to the first position, such as a toe-in position. Alternatively, the sequence can be carried out in reverse by turning the steerable wheel to a toe-in position first and then to a toe-out position. Thereby, during the turning of the steerable wheel from the first position to the second position, the steerable wheel will pass zero toe at least once.
During the turning of the steerable wheel from the first position to the second position, the camber angles and the toe angles of the steerable wheel are measured. According to one aspect of the invention, the camber angles corresponding to each toe angle are recorded. Alternatively, only the camber at zero toe is recorded. In another example, every toe angle is measured and recorded, while only the camber angle at zero toe is measured and recorded. In still another example of the invention, camber angles corresponding to each toe value are measured during a short period when the toe angle of the steerable wheel approaches and leaves zero toe.
Accordingly, in another aspect of the present invention, the toe sensor, camber sensor, and SAI measurement sensor are used to measure characteristics of the suspension, usually the steering axis, which is defined by the caster angle and the SAI angle. Then, using these known characteristics, the same relationships are used in a reversed manner to describe the relationship between steering angle (toe) and camber. Thus, for any steering angle, the camber effect from zero toe is calculated, allowing the camber to be set to the desired specification by altering the specification by the calculated effect in camber.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a wheel alignment system for measuring the amount of camber adjustment for a steerable wheel is provided. The wheel alignment system comprises: a toe measurement device configured for generating toe angle signals representative of toe angles of the steerable wheel; a camber measurement device configured for generating camber angle signals representative of camber angles of the steerable wheel; and a computer configured to carry out the steps of: receiving signals representative of toe angles and camber angles during the steerable wheel being turned to a first position in which the steerable wheel is either toe-in or toe-out, to a second position in which the steerable wheel is toe-out if the steerable wheel is toe-in in the first position, and in which the steerable wheel is toe-in if the steerable wheel is toe-out in the first position; determining the amount of camber angle at zero toe; and determining an adjustment amount of camber angle based on the amount of camber angle at zero toe and the current camber angle.
The toe measurement device and the camber measurement device are configured to measure camber angles and toe angles. As one embodiment, the toe measurement device and the camber measurement device may comprise a plurality of targets and optical sensing means for imaging. The targets are attached to the vehicle for marking each measurement point. The images of the targets are captured by the optical sensing means, such as a camera, and analyzed by a computer coupled to the optical sensing means. According to another embodiment, the toe measurement device and the camber measurement device comprise a signal source, such as an LED or an LED array or infrared emitting devices, and a sensor. The toe measurement device and the camber measurement device may comprise laser sources and optical sensing means, such as video cameras.
The computer is configured to execute alignment software and receive signals representative of toe angles and camber angles from the toe measurement device and the camber measurement device. The steerable wheel may be turned to a first position, wherein the toe angle of the steerable wheel is either toe-in or toe-out. The steerable wheel is then turned to a second position, wherein the steerable wheel is toe-out if the steerable wheel is toe-in in the first position, and the steerable wheel is toe-in if the steerable wheel is toe-out in the first position. The toe angles and camber angles during the turning of the steerable wheel are detected and recorded, and sent to the computer. The camber angle at zero toe is then determined by the computer according to the received signals. The computer calculates the adjustment amount of camber based on the difference of the camber angle at zero toe and a specification camber angle.
The alignment software may be stored in a hard drive memory associated with the computer, or on a CD-ROM disk readable by a CD-ROM drive associated with the computer. Alternatively, the alignment software may be stored in a remote computer accessible by the computer via a network.
According to another aspect of the invention, the current camber angle of the steerable wheel is measured. The adjustment amount of camber angle and the current camber angle are displayed based on a display coupled to the computer. For example, a camber angle equal to the current camber angle from which the adjustment amount of camber angle is subtracted is displayed to assist the technician in carrying out the alignment process.
Still other advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description, simply by way of illustration of the invention and not limitation. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other and different embodiments, and its several details are capable of modifications in various obvious respects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawing and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.